i am currently using a nexus 5 on the china mobile 2G network. now that china mobile is rolling out their TD-LTE (aka LTE TDD), i would like to use it. the american nexus 5 (D820) does support one single band that china mobile is using (band 41). but this only works "occasionaly" (like, 30% of the time, and that's in beijing, which should have rather good coverage).
there are, however, a couple of devices available that do support this - but they all come in the "china mainland" version, i.e. no google apps, no google accounts and so on.
samsung - galaxy note 3 (n9008v and n9008s)
oppo - find 7 - x9007
htc - one m8t
htc - one max 8088
sony - xperia z1 - l39t
sony - xperia t2 - x50t
lg - E985T
my question now is this:
does anyone have an informed opinion on how possible it is to flash international ROMs on any of these phones - especially the few that are comparaively small-screened (in this lineup, 5" would go be "small"), and with a extra special eye on the htc m8t.
rm_2 said:
i am currently using a nexus 5 on the china mobile 2G network. now that china mobile is rolling out their TD-LTE (aka LTE TDD), i would like to use it. the american nexus 5 (D820) does support one single band that china mobile is using (band 41). but this only works "occasionaly" (like, 30% of the time, and that's in beijing, which should have rather good coverage).
there are, however, a couple of devices available that do support this - but they all come in the "china mainland" version, i.e. no google apps, no google accounts and so on.
samsung - galaxy note 3 (n9008v and n9008s)
oppo - find 7 - x9007
htc - one m8t
htc - one max 8088
sony - xperia z1 - l39t
sony - xperia t2 - x50t
lg - E985T
my question now is this:
does anyone have an informed opinion on how possible it is to flash international ROMs on any of these phones - especially the few that are comparaively small-screened (in this lineup, 5" would go be "small"), and with a extra special eye on the htc m8t.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi there, I have the M8t and have so far managed to unlock and root using a variety of instructions and a 'special' CWM modified for the CHinese version - which is unfortunately only Chinese, but the commands are the same, so it was simple enough to flash superSU. I went through MANY different twrp and CWM recovery images that did not work before finally getting my hands on the one that did. I am not confident enough yet to try either the Google play or other international ROMs out there - as I need the phone to work! However, rooting was my aim and this CAN be done. Not sure yet what a new ROM would offer over and above the HTC one - it is easy enough to remove the CHinese blaotware with Titanium backup - anad it is wise to keep the Chinese browser, as Google and the stock browser are well filtered over here! Good luck with your choice - I would advise using a China Mobile LTE rather than an American one as they now default to 3G/2G automatically on the China Mobile network without the need for a separate number (two years ago you needed a change of phone number to get 3G!!- - not good when you want to keep your number) you also get seemless transition rather than a jump from 4g to 2g
Related
I've currently got a ZTE Blade running GSF. I'm looking at options for a new phone for my wife in January. I live in Ireland, travel to the UK regularly so the phone should be available in one of those markets. My first priority when choosing is that it can be SIM unlocked, my second that there's a 2.3 ROM available (if not already installed) and ideally that it's within the CyanogenMod community of interest (no necessarily officially supported). I'd like something with a better CPU than the Blade. I'm not willing to use a TurboSIM.
The Blade is an easy unlock. A lot of Samsung models can be unlocked using the BML5 method. What else is out there that's an easy/free home unlock?
Finally, how do phones with MT6573 CPU's compare with the ARMv6 chips in the branded offerings?
surely there are some others?
Okay to kick things off this thread is specifically for Chinese Android phones, please leave popular phones (Nexus 4) as well as Huawei out of it.
I've been looking into Chinese phones and they're awesome. Great specs at a third of the cost. But as you may know most Chinese phones will not have working 3G with US carriers.
What I'm looking to do is make a list of phones that will have working 3G with US carriers.
So let's establish what carriers allow you to bring your own unlocked phone. So far I only know of Simple Mobile and T Mobile. PLEASE tell us what other carriers let you used unlocked phones and what bands they use.
These phones are VERY rare and VERY hard to find, that's why I'm here. I want other people to be able to share their work and hopefully save some time for those interested.
So this is about how you should post:
Blu Quattro 5.7 HD - $340 - Compatible with Simple Mobile and most other carriers (850/900/1700/1900/2100)
Blu Quattro 4.5 HD - $339 - Compatible with Simple Mobile and most other carriers (850/900/1700/1900/2100)
Blu Quattro 4.5 - $225 - Compatible with Simple Mobile and most other carriers (850/900/1700/1900/2100)
Meizu MX (dual core) - $270 - Compatible with Simple Mobile and most other carriers (850/900/1700/1900/2100)
Meizu MX 4 core - $355 - Compatible with Simple Mobile and most other carriers (850/900/1700/1900/2100)
Oppo Find 5 - $500 - Compatible with Simple Mobile and most other carriers (850/1700/1900/2100)
Alcatel One Touch Scribe X - $??? - Apparently released but I can't find it online? - Compatible with Simple Mobile and most other carriers (850/900/1700/1900/2100)
I have links to all these phones that include full specs but can not post them as I am a noob! Aggravating to say the least. But if you're curious about them I can point you in the right direction.
There are many other phones that offer more than just the 850/2100 combo but as I don't know what carriers use what (yet) I haven't bothered to post them.
Please help build the list guys! So many great phones being overlooked simply because it's a real pain to find out about them.
I think this thread definitely deserves a bump, I've just started peeking into the fascinating world of Chinese phones and it'd really help to know which ones have been tested on US networks.
Yes, I am another who is interested. But not only are the specs important. Any verifiable evidence that any Chinese phone works on 3G and 4G bands. I am also interested in T-Mobile which utilizes 1700, 1900 & 2100.
Hello
I live in India and purchased a Nexus 5 in November of 2013 (when it was released here). I got the International version (D821) with very little support for US bands. The problem now is that I will be travelling to the US next year and I am not sure where I'll end up (going to do MS). I need to upgrade my phone but I'm not on a huge budget.
Let me also tell you about some smartphone habits I have. I keep my phone as updated as possible (through official updates/Custom ROMs) hence I would like to get a phone with good community support. Also from some research I've done I seem to have the following choices.
Nexus 5 with unlocked bands: I saw a thread here which allowed enabling bands 2 and 4 on the D821 through some hacking, though I don't want to risk doing that and these two bands alone unlocked don't support all the major carriers in the US.
Oneplus 2: Promising option and again, good community support
I need some advice on other options that I can try or just wait till next year to get another device.
Thanks in Advance
Bump!
Anyone? any help?
Right I don't get GEM numbers? i.e. GEM-701L /702/703 - which one do I to make it work with 4G in the UK (I have a GiffGaff/02 SIM) and were can I buy it... eBay searching and they seem to be all 703 ones? Thanks for the help...
A
Hi - afaik the different models are meant for different parts of the world & have different 4G bands (most 3G & 2G bands are universally supported now on nearly all phones).
O2 only operates on Band 20 for 4G in the UK - see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_LTE_networks_in_Europe
Of the 3 MediaPad X2 models - only the GEM-701L has band 20, so if you want 4G on your O2 sim, then that is the one to go for. - see http://consumer.huawei.com/en/tablets/tech-specs/mediapad-x2.htm
btw - Three network wants to buy O2 but it has been referred to the monopolies commission & needs their approval - if it goes ahead then you could get 4G on any model.
The first MediaPad X2 model released was the GEM-702L & it seems most (if not all) of the development, updates etc; has been made on the 702L - I've seen nothing for the 703L or 701L, but there is info on this site on how to change a 703L to a 702L (but as I understand you are restricted to the bands that 702L has)
I don't know why the cheapest (& most prolific) version on ebay (at least in the UK) is the 703L - I think they were meant for the middle east market & seems they are being imported into europe by the bucket load ! - I got one & I'm happy !
Anyway, hope this info is of use - personally I'm not bothered that much about 4G as 3G speeds are pretty good - but that's just my opinion.
I am very happy with MediaPad X2 - it's an amazing device for the money. I'd like to tweak it via rooting, but there is not much of that going on - yet !
Best wishes
Paul
UPDATE: you can buy the GEM-701L on amazon for about £328 that's nearly £100 more than the 703L I got on ebay...
Wow thanks for the detailed breakdown as its a giffgaff sim I currently have I'd have to go for the 701L to make it work in the UK. The other thing I find odd is the silver version is so hard to get hold of too let along the 32gb 3gb ram version too!
Check the thread about the peoples - from where they bought theirs. There is alot of links to online stores which is selling them even cheaper. mine come with 2 y warranty for 420$. GEM-703L golden version.
the-bunker said:
Hi - afaik the different models are meant for different parts of the world & have different 4G bands (most 3G & 2G bands are universally supported now on nearly all phones).
O2 only operates on Band 20 for 4G in the UK - see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_LTE_networks_in_Europe
Of the 3 MediaPad X2 models - only the GEM-701L has band 20, so if you want 4G on your O2 sim, then that is the one to go for. - see http://consumer.huawei.com/en/tablets/tech-specs/mediapad-x2.htm
btw - Three network wants to buy O2 but it has been referred to the monopolies commission & needs their approval - if it goes ahead then you could get 4G on any model.
The first MediaPad X2 model released was the GEM-702L & it seems most (if not all) of the development, updates etc; has been made on the 702L - I've seen nothing for the 703L or 701L, but there is info on this site on how to change a 703L to a 702L (but as I understand you are restricted to the bands that 702L has)
I don't know why the cheapest (& most prolific) version on ebay (at least in the UK) is the 703L - I think they were meant for the middle east market & seems they are being imported into europe by the bucket load ! - I got one & I'm happy !
Anyway, hope this info is of use - personally I'm not bothered that much about 4G as 3G speeds are pretty good - but that's just my opinion.
I am very happy with MediaPad X2 - it's an amazing device for the money. I'd like to tweak it via rooting, but there is not much of that going on - yet !
Best wishes
Paul
UPDATE: you can buy the GEM-701L on amazon for about £328 that's nearly £100 more than the 703L I got on ebay...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You got them mixed up. The 703L was the first model (it's the Chinese model) and that's the model with all the updates and ROM support.
I just bought 2 LG Nexus 5 phones on ebay. They were _silly_ cheap (AU$165, around US$120). I didn't really even expect them to work!
In Australia we normally would use the D821 version; however, I read you can [unlock Band 3 for the 820](http://forum.xda-developers.com/google-nexus-5/general/radio-enable-lte-band-3-nexus-5-d820-t2928561) . So I thought... why not?
The _weird_ thing is on the packaging of the phones. Check them out! One says "D820 GSM 900/1800/1900", the other one says "D820 GSM 850/900/1800/1900" (!). The one with the missing "850" had a much much older version of Android (4.0.1 I think) before upgrading (jumping to version 5, then version 6).
There are other slight differences. In the "newer" model (the one that came with Android 5, and has 820), in the camera app you can swap camera and video by swiping, whereas the other phone won't allow that, and will allow you to switch by swiping to get the menu and then selecting camera.
Even though they are both updated to the latest models, the info screen has slightly different kernels.
I *suspect* the older version is just one of the very early models.
Questions:
* Can I update both to unlock band 3?
* Can you work out why they are different?
Photos to show the info!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-C98ZMLVO5VSnNLR2syTGNTVWh6b1AzWlB0aXJ1a2F5ei1n/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-C98ZMLVO5VYUZjcFJ1Q3hKOElZc2dOSjZOeVM5REI3Z2hz/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-C98ZMLVO5VRl9Fcks4QnRNYWZyWWJHMGlkeFpPY1QzeFdr/view?usp=sharing
Merc.